Published online by Cambridge University Press: 23 November 2009
The number of ships involved in collisions in Japanese waters, excluding collisions with fixed or floating objects, increased rapidly in the 1960s, as can be seen in the statistics of the Marine Accidents Inquiry Commission: 1578 in 1955, 3604 in 1960, 6043 in 1965 and 7642 in 1970, while the increase in average tonnage resulted in numerous serious accidents. To cope with this situation, the Maritime Traffic Safety Law (MTSL) was enacted in 1973, defining eleven traffic routes in congested waters. The Tokyo Bay Traffic Advisory Centre was established in 1975 and started operation in 1977. The trend in the number of traffic accidents requiring assistance shows the effect of traffic management in reducing the number of accidents.